Published on Oct 23, 2015NASA tested crew recovery procedures Oct. 6-8 in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Team members from NASA's Orion and Ground Systems Development and Operations Programs demonstrated and evaluated techniques for crew recovery.

On Oct. 21, NASA held a review to evaluate the design readiness of the Orion spacecraft, the latest in a series of key milestones on the journey to Mars. The results of this review, known as a Critical Design Review, at the Program level will be briefed to agency leaders in the coming months.

The Orion spacecraft is being developed to send astronauts to deep space destinations, such as an asteroid and on the journey to Mars launching on the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

“The Orion team across the country put in many long hours preparing for and participating in this review,” said Mark Kirasich, Orion Program manager. “Every aspect of the spacecraft design was closely scrutinized.”

The Critical Design Review was carried out over the past 10 weeks by engineers at NASA and prime contractor Lockheed Martin. Clearing the Critical Design Review means that the Orion design is mature and ready to move ahead with full-scale fabrication, assembly, integration and testing. The review was supported by engineers working with the SLS and Ground Systems Development and Operations programs and in the Exploration Systems Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, alongside an independent Standing Review Board.

The evaluation included a review of common aspects of the spacecraft for Exploration Mission (EM)-1 and the spacecraft for EM-2, the first Orion mission with astronauts, such as the spacecraft’s structures, pyrotechnics, launch abort system, guidance, navigation and control and software, among many other elements. Systems unique to EM-2 will be addressed at a later critical design review for the mission in the fall of 2017.

“This is an exciting time for Orion,” Kirasich continued. “We are making strong progress manufacturing the Exploration Mission-1 Orion vehicle. Our dedicated team is making human space exploration a reality.”

Across the country, elements of the Orion spacecraft are coming together for the first integrated mission with SLS and the ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center. At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, welding began in September on the next Orion destined for space. Next month, NASA will see the arrival of a test version of Orion’s service module, provided by ESA, for testing and analysis at the agency’s Plum Brook Station, near Sandusky, Ohio.

For these future Orion missions, a silver, metallic-based thermal control coating will also be bonded to the crew module’s thermal protection system back shell tiles. The coating, similar to what is used on the main heat shield, will reduce heat loss during phases when Orion is pointed to space and therefore experiencing cold temperatures, as well as limit the high temperatures the crew module will be subjected to when the spacecraft faces the sun. The coating will help Orion’s back shell maintain a temperature range from approximately -150 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit prior to entry and also will protect against electrical surface charges in space and during re-entry.

Published on Dec 9, 2015NASA is hard at work building the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System rocket and the ground systems needed to send astronauts into deep space. The agency is developing the core capabilities needed to enable the journey to Mars. On Exploration Mission-1, the spacecraft will travel thousands of miles beyond the moon over the course of about a three-week mission.

Published on Dec 16, 2015NASA researchers used the Arc Jet Facility at Johnson Space Center for over 40 years to provide researchers with the data necessary to develop spacecraft protective systems. From the dawn the space race, through the development of the Orion spacecraft, the Arc Jet facility allowed researchers the opportunity to test and refine spacecraft material and structural designs to determine what could withstand the extreme temperature, physical and chemical changes required to penetrate the atmosphere and return safely to earth. As NASA progresses on the Journey to Mars, the groundwork laid by Arc Jet researchers will prove invaluable.

Published on Dec 18, 2015This video shows many hardware milestones reached in 2015 to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft to deep space on Exploration Mission-1, a flight that will take the uncrewed spacecraft thousands of miles beyond the moon in the first integrated mission with NASA’s Space Launch System rocket.

NASA’s Orion crew module will be available to media at two NASA locations Jan. 26th and in early February, as engineers continue to prepare the spacecraft to send astronauts deeper into space than ever before, including to an asteroid placed in lunar orbit and on the journey to Mars.

At 10:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 26, the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans will host a media viewing and facility tour of the spacecraft’s recently completed pressure vessel, the underlying structure of the crew module, before it ships to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

To attend the event at Michoud, reporters must contact Chip Howat at 504-257-0478 or carl.j.howat@nasa.gov by 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25. International media accreditation for this event is closed.

The Orion pressure vessel provides a sealed environment for astronaut life support in future human-rated crew modules. Technicians at Michoud began welding together the seven large aluminum pieces of Orion’s primary structure in precise detail last September. At Kennedy, Orion will be outfitted with the spacecraft’s systems and subsystems, processed and integrated with NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) ahead of their first joint exploration mission, or EM-1.

Michoud also is where the massive core stage of SLS is being manufactured. Reporters will be able to view tooling and newly manufactured hardware for SLS, and hear about mission progress from personnel across NASA.

Orion will depart Michoud on or about Feb. 1 and travel to Kennedy aboard NASA’s Super Guppy airplane. Additional details for Orion’s arrival at Kennedy, including media accreditation, are forthcoming.

Media representatives are invited to attend two events at Kennedy Space Center in Florida marking the arrival of the Orion crew module pressure vessel that will fly atop the Space Launch System rocket on the first integrated flight test, Exploration Mission-1, (EM-1). Delivery of this major Orion hardware marks an important milestone as NASA continues making progress on its journey to Mars.

At 3 p.m. EST, Monday, February 1, Orion’s recently completed pressure vessel, or underlying structure of the crew module, is scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Landing Facility aboard NASA’s Super Guppy cargo aircraft. Members of the news media will have the opportunity to photograph the arrival and unloading of the spacecraft.

At 10 a.m. EST, Wednesday, February 3, media may view the spacecraft in the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Facility and conduct interviews with NASA and Lockheed Martin representatives.

NASA and Lockheed Martin are tracking several milestones for Orion in 2016. The processing of Orion for flight at Kennedy will include outfitting the crew module with the spacecraft’s heat-shielding thermal protection systems, avionics and other subsystems including electrical power storage and distribution, thermal control, cabin pressure control, command and data handling, communications and tracking, guidance, navigation and control, reaction control system propulsion and flight software and computers.

To attend the event, media accreditation requests should be submitted online at:

International media accreditation for this event is closed. U.S. must apply for accreditation by 4 p.m. January 29. Two forms of government-issued identification are required to receive a badge, one of which must be a photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport. Badges will be available for pick up at the Kennedy Badging Office on State Road 405 east of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Hours for the Kennedy Badging Office are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Questions concerning accreditation may be addressed to Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or jennifer.p.horner@nasa.gov.

For the February 1 event, media should arrive at the press site by 2 p.m. for transportation to the landing facility.

Media should arrive at the press site by 9 a.m. for transportation to the event Feb. 3.

For both events, all participants must be dressed in full-length pants and shirts with sleeves, and wear flat shoes that cover the feet entirely.

Dates and times are subject to change. Updates for events are available at 321-867-2525.

The Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space.

Orion is lowered onto a work stand in the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Engineers loaded the Orion pressure vessel, or underlying structure of the crew module, into a work stand in the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 2. The pressure vessel’s seven large pieces were welded together at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans between September 2015 and January 2016. It will fly thousands of miles beyond the moon on Exploration Mission-1.

The pressure vessel provides a sealed environment to support astronauts and is key for future human-rated crew modules. The Orion team will test the pressure vessel to make sure it’s structurally sound and then begin outfitting it with the spacecraft’s other systems and subsystems. Over the next 18 months, more than 100,000 components will arrive to Kennedy for integration into Orion. Check out more photos of Orion’s trip to Kennedy.

Wait, that's a Super Guppy ? With Orion similar shappe to an Apollo - back to the 60's !

It's a Super Guppy built under license in France and used by AirBus to transport large assemblies between their various factories. AirBus was using 2 U.S. built Super Guppys and built 2 more under license. They were using 4 at one time. NASA now has Super Guppy Turbine N941NA (formerly F-GEAI), serial number 0004 built in 1983. AirBus replaced its Super Guppy's with the jet powered AirBus Beluga oversize transport aircraft modified from its A300 jet airliner. NASA obtained the french Super Guppy as compensation in return for launching ESA items to the ISS on the Space Shuttle.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. , Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and NASA Orion team has secured the 2,700 lb. Exploration Mission -1 (EM-1) Orion crew module into its structural assembly tool, also known as the "birdcage." The crew module is the living quarters for astronauts and the backbone for many of Orion's systems such as propulsion, avionics and parachutes.

"The structure shown here is 500 pounds lighter than its Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) counterpart," said Mike Hawes , Lockheed Martin Orion vice president and program manager. "Once the final structural components such as longerons, bolts and brackets are added, total crew module structural weight savings from EFT-1 to EM-1 will total 700 pounds."

From experience gained by building test articles, building and flying EFT-1, and now building the EM-1 crew module, the Lockheed Martin team is learning how to shed weight, reduce costs and simplify the manufacturing process - all in an effort to improve the production time and cost of future Orions.

"Our very talented team in Louisiana has manufactured a great product and now they have passed the baton to Florida ," said Hawes. "This is where we assemble, test and launch, and the fun really begins."

At Kennedy Space Center , the crew module will undergo several tests to ensure the structure is perfectly sound before being integrated with other elements of the spacecraft. First it will undergo proof-pressure testing where the structural welds are stress tested to confirm it can withstand the environments it will experience in space. The team will then use phased array technology to inspect the welds to make sure there are no defects. Additional structural tests will follow including proof-pressure testing of the fluid system welds and subsequent x-ray inspections.

Once the crew module passes those tests it will undergo final assembly, integration and entire vehicle testing in order to prepare for EM-1, when Orion is launched atop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) for the first time. The test flight will send Orion into lunar distant retrograde orbit - a wide orbit around the moon that is farther from Earth than any human-rated spacecraft has ever traveled. The mission will last about three weeks and will certify the design and safety of Orion and SLS for future human-rated exploration missions.